On September 14th, Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly, two reporters for the New York Times, released an article detailing a sexual misconduct claim against Brett Kavanaugh by one of his former Yale classmates Deborah Ramirez.
Ramirez claims that during a dorm party in which alcohol was involved, Kavanaugh removed his pants and thrust his penis into her face, making her understandably uncomfortable. While her allegation was known during the time of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, Ramirez did not testify, and due to the increased contact between Kavanaugh and fellow accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Ford’s testimonial, much of the media attention focused on her accusations. The reporters stated that at least seven people were aware of what happened to Ramirez before Kavanaugh was confirmed.
What now has brought Ramirezs’ narrative it’s overdue, and deserved attention, is that the reporters have uncovered the account of Max Stier, a fellow classmate that states he witnessed Kavanaugh exhibit similar behavior to his interaction with Ramirez towards another female student. Information has also been released stating that Stier informed senators and the F.B.I of what he witnessed, many now saying that the F.B.I did not adequately investigate the information provided.
Since Pogrebin and Kelly published their article, they have received backlash for an unintentional omission of information pertaining to the victim of Stier’s account. The removed detail stated that the alleged victim told others she did not recall Kavanaugh’s actions, an omission which Pogrebin and Kelly have said their editor was responsible for. If you access the article now, it states that the omission did occur and the victim’s lack of recollection is readily incorporated. I do not think this slight omission has the power to downplay the severity and validity of the original article, as the detail was included in the draft of the piece and in their soon to be released book “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation.”
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In hearing this new information, it brought back all the frustration that I, along with many others, felt when Kavanaugh was confirmed to the highest court in our nation. To put it simply, I am tired of men not being held accountable for their actions. I am tired of the cyclical way in which women are often blamed for the actions of men. I don’t care about what she was wearing. I don’t care if she flirted. I care about the facts. I care about what happened.
Quite frankly, it seems that many people, the president of the United States and other government officials included, will readily ignore the facts if it furthers their political agendas. Furthermore, these allegations and the lack of action in investigating them shocks and frustrates me, and I think there is hope for change as long as allegations such as these continue to shock people and push them towards accountability.